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Thursday, May 30, 2013

AD Starrling

Guest Post and Excerpt by AD Starrling

King’s Crusade Music Playlist

Hello and thanks for having me on your blog!

Today, I am pleased to present part of the music playlist for King’s Crusade, Book #2 of the supernatural series Seventeen. I say part, because the actual playlist has 61 songs on it! I’ve chosen my favorites and explained how they relate to the scenes in the book. You have been warned. They are LOUD!

1. Warrior by Disturbed

To me, this first song defines the protagonist of King's Crusade. Those lyrics send shivers down my spine and set the pace and flavor for the entire story. I had this on constant replay when I was writing the final battle scene!

2. Skin to Bone by Linkin Park

The second song comes to you courtesy of Linkin Park and is the tune I had in mind for the prologue, where Dimitri Reznak finds Alexa on the battlefield at Narva.

3. This is It by Staind

Following on from the prologue, we meet Dimitri Reznak in modern day Egypt, where he makes THE discovery of his immortal lives. This was a great song for this scene.

4. The Consequence by You Me At Six

This was the song for that opening scene of Chapter Two, when Alexa appears as an adult and jumps off the side of the cliff. The beats seriously rock. The band is British by the way!

5. Hero by Skillet

This song defines the Port Said fight scene and Alexa's one-on-one with Boyko Dragov. This is one of my favorite songs of the whole playlist. That chorus is awesome!

6. Burning Down The House by The Used

I heard this on the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Soundtrack and fell in love with the heavy beats. This is the song for the Mersin Free Zone plot line in Adana, Turkey.

7. Run by Disturbed

This was the song for the chase scene from the tavern in Istanbul to the church.

8. Our Truth by Lacuna Coil

This is the first song by Lacuna Coil to feature on the King's Crusade playlist. I discovered this amazing Italian heavy metal band from one of the songs on the Underworld movies soundtracks. Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro are the lead vocalists for the band and I think their voices work very well together to produce a haunting sound. This song was the one I listened to during the Istanbul hotel scene where Alexa confesses the secrets of the Immortals to Jackson.

9. The Heart of Everything by Within Temptation

Another new group to feature on the King's Crusade Playlist, this song by Within Temptation defines Francesco Lorenzio's revelations to Alexa and Jackson in Vatican City.

10. The Path to Decay by Sirenia

Another big favorite from the soundtrack, you could say this song inspired the first part of the Rome chase scene, after the assassination in Vatican City, and the subsequent escape from Vatican Palace. Close your eyes and imagine that scene, starting with their jump from that window!

11. Thick as Thieves by Cavo

Another new band to feature on the playlist, this song by Cavo was perfect for the breaking in scene in London.

12. Sons of Plunder by Disturbed

And here comes the action again! This song is for the first part of the Freemasons' fight scene.

13. Spellbound by Lacuna Coil

The second song from Lacuna Coil to feature on the playlist for King's Crusade epitomizes the penthouse scene between Alexa and Jackson.

14. The Truth Beneath the Rose by Within Temptation

The second song to feature on the playlist from Within Temptation, this is from their album The Heart of Everything. This was the perfect tune for the Sumava lab scene, when Alexa uncovers Cavaleti's plans.

15. The Howling by Within Temptation

More from Within Temptation, this song was for the Perm train scene leading up to the gun fight in the wagon.

16. I'm Alive by Disturbed

This was the perfect song for the aftermath of the explosion and Alexa waking up in the forest.

17. Our Solemn Hour by Within Temptation

This is the song for the start of the final fight.

18. Stand My Ground by Within Temptation

For me, this was the hardest scene to write in the entire book. I agonized for a long time before making the decision that this had to happen. The haunting sounds of this song reflects the heartache at losing someone important.

19. Whispers in the Dark by Skillet

This is the first song for Alexa's fall into oblivion and the calling of an ancient voice.

20. Rebirthing by Skillet

The final song of Alexa's infinite time in darkness and her return to light. The lyrics reflect what she's going through rather well.

21. I Don't Believe in Tomorrow by Lacuna Coil

The Perm Hospital scene. This song reflects Alexa's internal conflict and pain.

22. What Have You Done by Within Temptation, featuring Keith Caputo

This song’s lyrics evoke Alexa's spiral into hell in the final chapters of the book.

23. Swamped by Lacuna Coil

The penultimate song on the playlist. I had this tune in mind for that Epilogue from the very beginning of the book.

24. Trip the Darkness by Lacuna Coil

The final song for the King's Crusade playlist was thrown in there for a bit of fun! If this book was ever made into a movie, this song would be my first choice for the end credits. Some of you will recognize this tune from one of the Underworld movies soundtrack.

I hope you've enjoyed the rather extensive playlist for the second novel in Seventeen. That was a fabulous 61 songs in total, which will all feature on my website with a weekly release under News starting May 7. I am pleased to announce that the playlist for Book Three is completed and will feature on the website next year. It’s nice and sweet, with puppies, kittens, and unicorns...I'm kidding, obviously...

Happy reading, writing, and blogging all!

AD Starrling

PROLOGUE

November 1700. Battle of Narva. Swedish territory.

The little girl stared into the dead man’s eyes, her expression steady and unflinching. All around her rose the cries of soldiers and the clash of swords, while cannons boomed on a distant hill, and the sharp reports of musket shots echoed across the banks of the nearby river.

The morning’s blizzard had turned the battlefield into a gray and bloody mire. The snow and rain that had been falling steadily during the night had grown heavy at dawn, and visibility was worsened by vicious gusts blowing in from the west. When the wind shifted to the south at midday, it provided an unprecedented advantage for the eight-thousand-strong army of Sweden’s King Karl the Twelfth. They had been able to advance virtually unseen on the significantly larger Russian contingent, which laid siege to the city of Narva in early November of that year.

Although tired and hungry after traveling across miles of treacherous back roads and countryside laid to waste by the invaders, the better-equipped and more experienced Swedes managed to get within fifty yards of the enemy’s front lines without being detected and led a swift attack on two fronts.

After overcoming Russian General Veyde’s and Prince Trubetskoy’s men, they now marched for the troops on the adversary’s left flank, which were under the charge of Duke de Cröy, the field marshal whom Tsar Peter I of Russia had left in charge of his army.

As he carefully made his way across the treacherous ground, Dimitri Reznak glanced at the bruised skies overhead. Though the worst of the storm had passed, heavy flakes still fell from the low clouds that covered the land in eerie twilight. Interspersed with rain and sleet, the snow melted rapidly in crimson puddles that dotted the plain, forming brief teardrops on the cooling skin of the hundreds of Russian and Swedish soldiers who had fallen since the start of the battle. Reznak frowned at the gruesome sight.

Given that he was an immortal who had witnessed countless wars and conflicts over the five centuries of his existence thus far, he knew he should have been immune to the spectacle of blood and gore that surrounded him. Yet, despite the fact that he and the two hundred Crovir immortals under his command were assisting the young Swedish King in his endeavor to keep the new territories his predecessors had acquired during Europe’s bloody Thirty Years’ War, Reznak could not help but feel overwhelmed by sadness at the needless loss of human life. Which was why he headed straight for the little girl when he saw her standing on the knoll in the middle of the battleground.

Although he hadn’t expected to see a child in the midst of the war zone, Reznak was not surprised. Some civilians had still been trying to reach the safety of the fortified city when they were caught between the advancing armies, and those who had not succumbed to the fierce blizzard perished in the subsequent crossfire. He could only presume that the child had become separated from her parents during the ensuing chaos. The chances of finding them alive, he knew, would be slim at best.

When he got within twenty feet of her, the little girl finally looked up. It was not the panicked, wild movement he had been anticipating. Instead, it was a slow and measured gesture. Reznak froze.

Her eyes were a clear gray, the irises wide and almost silvery in their sheen. Her skin, where it was visible beneath the dirty yet elegant ivory dress she wore, was an alabaster white. Thick, dark curls crowned her head and fell in waves to her shoulders, framing a surprisingly slim face and neck. She looked to be about eight years old and was without a doubt the most shockingly beautiful being he had ever seen.

Yet it was not her startling appearance that stopped him in his tracks; it was the look on her face that sent a sharp chill through his bones and a shiver down his spine, immobilizing his legs.

There was only one word to describe the expression in her eyes: fearlessness.

Pure and unadulterated, the feeling seemed to seep through her pores and emanate from the very core of her being, an almost palpable energy focused in a lance-like beam projected from her dark pupils.

That was when Reznak knew she was not human.

The little girl blinked. Reznak suddenly found that he could move again. His gaze drifted down to her right hand, where the handle of an ugly knife was clasped firmly between her slender fingers. Red droplets still gleamed wetly on the edge of the blade and dropped into an expanding pool by her bare feet. His eyes followed the crimson trail to the dead man lying inches from where she stood. There was a deep, linear wound on the left side of the soldier’s chest; by the looks of it, she had stabbed him in the heart.

It would have taken the man less than a minute to die.

Reznak’s gaze shifted to the girl. ‘Hello,’ he said gently in German, conscious of the weight of the sword at his waist. ‘My name is Dimitri. What’s your name?’

The little girl remained silent. He hesitated. Certain he would not get a reply, he repeated the question in the local Estonian dialect. He was shocked when, in a clear and low voice that was oddly devoid of emotion, she said, ‘Alexandria.’

Reznak took a cautious step forward, his eyes never leaving hers. Her chin tilted as she stared up at him. ‘Where’s your mother, Alexandria?’ he continued quietly in the same vernacular.

A faint frown dawned on her face at his words. ‘I don’t know,’ she said.

Less than two hundred feet from where they stood, scores of soldiers fought to the death, their swords and daggers carving through the flesh and bones of their enemies. The harsh breaths of their nervous horses misted the cold air, while musket rounds peppered the ground around them.

Reznak took another step forward. ‘Can you tell me where you came from?’

The little girl’s frown deepened while she considered the question. ‘I don’t know,’ she repeated.

It was then that he noticed the fresh blood matted in her hair. She had suffered a blow to the side of her head. His gaze dropped to the red finger marks on her arm. His eyes narrowed.

He stared at her for a moment before slowly squatting down. With his face level with hers, he carefully extended a hand. ‘Would you like to come with me, Alexandria? It’s not safe here.’

The little girl gazed at him silently. Undaunted, Reznak stood up and waited. She turned on her heels and stared through the thin veil of snow at the river and the city beyond it. The wind picked up and ruffled her hair.

He peered at the back of her neck curiously. Imprinted a scant inch beneath her hairline, in the very middle of her delicate spine, was a triangular mark—a trishula. Although generically shaped like a trident, the more intricate details of the design reminded him strongly of the weapons he had seen wielded by fearsome Asian warriors in battles past. It was not a tattoo. It looked more like a birthmark.

The knife thudded softly in the deepening snowdrift when the little girl opened her fingers. Still gazing at the battlefield before them, she raised her bloodied hand toward him. Reznak clasped it in his own and was surprised at how warm her skin felt.

‘Are you my father now?’ she asked calmly.

‘No,’ he said with a weak smile. He glanced at the top of her head. The dark curls shivered slightly in the wind. Beneath them, the child’s body was as still as stone. ‘Can I call you Alexa? Alexandria is a bit of a mouthful.’

An ancient sect determined to bring about the downfall of human civilization.

The exciting, action-packed follow-up to Soul Meaning and the second installment in the supernatural thriller series, Seventeen.

When a team of scientists unearth scriptures older than the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave in the Eastern Desert mountains in Egypt, a mystery lost to the tides of time is uncovered. Heading the expedition is Dimitri Reznak, the Head of the Crovir Immortal Culture & History Section. But the monumental discovery is spoiled by evidence of looting and half the priceless artifacts Reznak has been seeking for centuries have disappeared.

Alexa King is a covert agent for the Crovir First Council. When she is approached by her godfather for a mission that could help elucidate the enigma of her lost past, she finds herself delving into the dangerous and shadowy world of secret religious societies. Assigned by Reznak to assist her is Zachary Jackson, a gifted human and Harvard archaeology professor.

In their search for the missing artifacts, King and Jackson stumble upon the existence of a deadly sect whose origins are as mystifying as the relics they are searching for. From North Africa to the doors of Vatican City itself, they unveil a centuries-old plan that aims to shatter the very structure of civilized society.

With the help of Reznak and a group of unexpected allies, King and Jackson must stop the enemy and uncover the astonishing truth behind the missing artifacts and King’s own unearthly origins before all is lost.

AD Starrling was born on the small island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and came to the UK at the age of twenty to study medicine. After five years of hard graft earning her MD and another five years working all of God’s hours as a Paediatrician, she decided it was time for a change and returned to her first love, writing.

Soul Meaning is her debut novel and the first in a supernatural thriller series entitled Seventeen. She currently lives in Warwickshire in the West Midlands, where she is busy writing the second novel in the series while drinking gallons of tea.